The federal government is involved in creating a vast network of carbon dioxide pipelines to capture and store CO2 as a way to meet its net zero by 2050 climate goal.
A deep dive investigation into the United States policy of highlighting carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies zones in on the rupturing of a Satartia, Mississippi, CO2 pipeline which made dozens of people sick and rendered the town temporarily uninhabitable.
The administration’s plans are being met with skepticism and mistrust by environmental justice advocates and the progressive democrats.
It was just after 7 p.m. when residents of Satartia, Mississippi, started smelling rotten eggs. Then a greenish cloud rolled across Route 433 and settled into the valley surrounding the little town. Within minutes, people were inside the cloud, gasping for air, nauseated and dazed.
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Beyond the suffering of those who lived through it, the fact that the Biden administration is poised to commit unprecedented billions to carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology — putting CCS at the center of the country’s strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions — further magnifies the importance of Satartia’s CO2 accident.
The historic hike in federal support for CCS infrastructure includes taking the first steps toward the construction of a continent-spanning network of pipelines in order to move America’s many millions of tons of CO2 to storage areas where, theoretically, the gas can be injected deep underground and sequestered indefinitely. The Gassing Of Satartia
The White House released a report yesterday outlining a series of actions the federal government could take to speed up the development of carbon capture and storage across the United States, even as the technology faces scrutiny from environmental justice advocates and the left flank of the Democratic Party.
The report, prepared by the Council on Environmental Quality and mandated by Congress, said the Biden administration is committed to the “responsible development and deployment” of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), but added the technology will only yield desired benefits if deployment is “well-designed and well-governed.”
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If the United States wants to hit its climate targets, CCUS deployment “should increase tenfold” over the next decade, the report said, citing research. ieefa.org/...
According to the
Financial Times, the United States needs 68,000 additional miles of CO2 networks to reach its emissions goals. Currently, we have roughly 5,150 miles, which is the largest in the world. These CO2 networks, located for the most part in Texas, use CO2 in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) by injecting it into wells to “squeeze out stubborn crude oil deposits. Revenue derives from selling the gas and claiming a federal tax credit worth $35 for each tonne of carbon put underground.”
The use of CO2 for EOR is common:
Denbury uses the CO2 for enhanced oil recovery, or EOR, which uses the gas to flush more oil out of wells. About 20% to 40% of the oil in a field can be recovered through conventional drilling and injecting water into the reservoir. Injecting CO2 after that can increase the yield up to 60%.